Rahman told reporters mediation between the two parties before Judicial Commissioner Azizul Azmi Adnan was a success and the two parties had entered a consent judgment in the defamation lawsuit.

In the statement of clarification, Mkini Dot Com, which owned Malaysiakini, said they understood the publication had caused Rahman to be ridiculed.

“The VoxPop and article had portrayed him as someone uncaring of the plight of urbanites,” the statement read.

They expressed their regret.

Malaysiakini also said that the statement used in the VoxPop and article (“Minister’s ‘go back to kampung’ draws contempt”) was only an excerpt of what Rahman had said and did not reflect the whole content.

“The excerpt was taken during a press conference last year where a reporter asked him if the price hike was driving people back to the village.

“He spoke at length on issues concerning development of resilient cities. It was not limited to ‘go back to kampung’,” the statement said.

Rahman had sued Malaysiakini and its reporter for the VoxPop and article which he said did not reflect the original content of his message and was edited to portray him as telling the urban population to return to the villages.

He said the VoxPop and article had painted him as a person who did not care for the plight of the people caused by the rising cost of living; who did not encourage the people to seek income in the urban centres; and who was insensitive to the current issues that had an impact on society.